Daughter of the Dragon
by elienta
Summary: The Kenshin-gumi meet a strange girl at the Akabeko - a girl who says her father was indebted to Kaoru's own father, and that she has come to pay respects. Is she what she claims to be?
1. The Stranger

**Disclaimer**: I don't own RK. 'Nuff said.

It was a lazy summer afternoon in Tokyo, and lunch hour at the Akabeko was as hectic as ever. The air was thick with the smell of both food and people, creating a haze over the heads of the customers as they hungrily devoured their food while conversing eagerly with their neighbors about issues ranging from the price of tofu to government policies. Tsubame and Yahiko were out of breath running from the kitchen to the tables, taking orders and serving dishes, and were too busy to notice three familiar faces when they entered the restaurant.

"Geez, this place is crowded," Sanosuke said lazily, waving a hand in front of his face. "Figures, I guess, since Tae-san's food is so great." He cast a meaningful look at Kaoru.

"Not to mention she's nice enough to feed a great big pig like you who doesn't even pay for his meals," Kaoru said sweetly, ignoring Sanosuke as she looked for a spare table.

Kenshin grinned at Sanosuke's scowl. "I think Kauro-dono is right, Sano. What other restaurant in Tokyo would let you eat so much for free?"

"It's not for free," a slight frazzled but ever-smiling Tae greeted them. "It's credit. I know Sanosuke-san will pay me back... someday." She gave Sanosuke a wry glance that made him shrug uncomfortably. 

"Let's hope in this lifetime," Kaoru replied doubtfully. "Are you too busy, Tae-san? We can come back later..."

"No, no. Just a minute. I'm sure one of the tables will clear up in a moment." Tae rushed to investigate, and soon she waved to the three friends as a group of four stood up from their table. As the three of them took their seats, Tae quickly cleared the remains and left them to order. Kaoru and Sanosuke discussed the menu - Sano was for salmon and rice, but Kaoru held on to beef stew - and Kenshin smiled at their familiar bickering as he let himself listen idly to the conversations around them. One heated debate caught his attention.

"...never trust them," a man behind him was growling, traces of sake evident in his slightly unsteady tone. "They come here all nice smiles, and then they take the land right out from under our feet!"

"The government will protect our rights," his companion said uncertainly. 

The first man snorted. "As if the Meiji government ever cared about the people!"

"Kenshin!" Kaoru's voice made Kenshin look up questioningly. "Is beef okay with you?"

"Next time we get salmon," Sanosuke grumbled as Kenshin nodded. Kaoru gave the order to Tsubame and smiled brightly at Sanosuke. "When you pay, Sano-_chan_, I will be happy to let you order whatever you want."

As they waited for their meal to come out, Kaoru noted that there were several foreigners sitting in the Akabeko, trying to remain unobserved but their paleness among the regulars sticking out like letters written in white chalk on a blackboard. "You never see many foreigners around here," she wondered. "Do you think they're tourists?"

"Pretty under-dressed to be tourists," Kenshin observed, looking at their cotton kimonos. "Tourists usually stay in hotels and go to see Buddhist temples."

Sanosuke shrugged. "Who cares? Maybe they just heard how good the food is here. Besides, they're not the only newcomers here. Look at that girl over there. I don't remember seeing her before, and I know I would remember someone like _that_."

Kaoru and Kenshin discreetly turned their heads in the direction Sanosuke was looking, to see a girl perhaps a little older than Kaoru sipping a cup of tea. She had blue-black hair twisted on top of her head, and her eyes were lowered modestly. Her kimono was an unremarkable shade of dark green, unlikely to stand out in a crowd, but as Sanosuke had said she didn't seem the type of person to be overlooked - perhaps not beautiful in the classical sense, but certainly not unpleasant to look at. Her features were delicately formed, in an oval face that seemed almost like a mask, and she moved with a subtle grace. Her outward appearance, however, gave the impression of a colorful screen, put up to distract observers from trying to into the essence behind the glamor.

"Oi, pretty lady," a drunken voice drawled. "Come and pour us some sake, ne?"

The girl looked up, her eyes a startling shade of deep midnight blue. She contemplated the invitation for a brief moment before opening her mouth. "I am not a geisha," she said in a perfectly respectful tone, her voice low and melodious. "And even if I were, you couldn't afford to kiss the hem of my kimono, let alone drink anything I pour." She smiled serenely at the man and his friends, who were sitting at the table next to her. "Gomen nasai," she added, faintly mocking.

It took the men a moment in their drunken stupor to realize they had been insulted. One of them stood up and towered over the girl, glaring at her out of his narrow eyes. "Say that again, bitch?"

"I don't think I will, _pig_."

With a roar, the man raised a hand to slap the girl's face, but his outrage turned into a scream of pain as Sanosuke jerked his arm and pinned it to his back, twisting it so the man was balanced on his toes, howling. The other customers buried themselves in their food, studiously ignoring the little drama. "Didn't you hear the lady?" Sanosuke snapped. "Eat your food and get lost, and leave the lady alone."

One of them fumbled in his robes, presumably for a weapon, but Kenshin stopped him cold with a look of warning, a dangerous spark in his purple eyes. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Sanosuke shoved the man he was holding into his seat, releasing his hold, and the man scowled, rubbing his shoulder. "Let's get out of here," he muttered to his friends, and they shuffled out of the Akabeko with a stream of muttered curses. Kaoru was also on her feet and now she was bending over the girl. "Are you all right?"

"Daijoubu," she replied. "Sumimasan." She smiled at Kaoru. "I could have handled those idiots, but thank you for saving me the trouble." Her dark head bowed briefly towards Sanosuke and Kenshin. "My name is...Kigaii Karen."

Kenshin sensed the heartbeat of hesitation before her name, but did not voice his thoughts aloud as they made their introductions. "You're new around here, aren't you?" Kaoru added. "Come and eat with us. You won't be bothered, I promise."

"Yeah, who'd bother tanuki-girl?" Sanosuke grinned, dodging Kaoru's fist.

As Karen joined their table with murmured thanks, Kenshin couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her somewhere before. _Which is odd, because I'm sure I would remember her if I had...no, I'm sure I haven't. Then why does she look so familiar?_ It was as if he was trying to remember part of a dream long past. _I must be growing old,_ he thought ruefully.

"If your last name is Kamiya," Karen was saying to Kaoru. "Are you by any chance connected to the Kamiya Dojo here in Tokyo?"

"Actually, we live there," Kaoru told her with a surprised laugh. "My father was the master of Kamiya Kashin-ryuu before he died, and I am acting as master in his place."

"It's a run-down dojo with one master and one student," Sanosuke supplied, ignoring Kenshin's nudging elbow. Kaoru pointedly refused to reply to Sanosuke's rude comment. "But why do you ask, Karen-san?"

"My father..." Karen hesitated. "My father knew your father, Kaoru-san. He passed away awhile ago, but he begged me to go and pay my respects to the man who had once saved his life. I did not know he was dead as well..."

There was a short silence, then Kaoru reached out and squeezed Karen's hand impulsively. "I know what it's like, Karen-san. I'm so sorry."

"No, I am over my grief now." Karen smiled pensively. "I suppose this is all rather sudden for you. I meant to write before I came, but Father never told me the exact location of where Kamiya-sama lived. For all I knew, the dojo had been burned down during the aftermath of the war."

"Why didn't your father come during his lifetime?" Kenshin asked gently.

Karen eyed Kenshin almost warily for a brief moment, but her face betrayed no discomfort when she answered his question. "His health has always been poor. My family used to live in Tokyo, until the doctor told us we should move to the country for my father's health. I was too little to remember much. Tokyo seems an entirely new world to me." She laughed a little at herself.

Over lunch, Karen told Kaoru the story of how her father had been a fairly profitable shop owner before they had had to leave for the country. One night, as he had been going home from the store, carrying the profits of that day, he had been waylaid by thieves who demanded he hand over his money in exchange for his life. They had chosen a bad place to do it, though - right in front of the Kamiya Dojo.

"My father told me so much about your father, Kaoru-san, I feel as if I already know you," Karen said warmly.

Kaoru found herself returning her smile. "Will you be staying in Tokyo long, Karen-san?"

"I ... don't know." Karen lowered her eyes. Kaoru thought she looked almost frightened. "I am an orphan now, I suppose. I should find a way of earning enough to live on, but I haven't been able to think much about it..."

"Do you know how to use that sword, Karen-dono?" Kenshin said suddenly, pointing to a bundle at Karen's feet. The handle of a katana poked out from the top, although swathed in cloths to make it hard to recognize.

"A little," Karen replied smoothly, returning Kenshin's gaze unflinchingly.

"Karen-san, why don't you stay with us for awhile?" Kaoru said impulsively. "There's plenty of room. Please say yes! I'd feel terrible if you just left. Maybe we can help you find a job here in Tokyo." She glanced at Kenshin. "I'd be an orphan myself, if it wasn't for Kenshin and Yahiko - I know what it's like to be alone. You don't mind, Kenshin, do you, if Karen-san stays with us for awhile?"

"Not at all," Kenshin said, a trifle absently as Kaoru and Karen began to chat about lighter topics while Sanosuke busied himself with finishing off the stew. There was something about this Kigaii Karen that he wasn't sure of. Her story was credible and she showed no insecurity in telling it, yet Kenshin couldn't help thinking that she wasn't telling the truth, at least not entirely. _Stop being so suspicious_, he chided himself, but at the same time he made a mental note to keep an eye on her. The first time he had met Kaoru, she had been tricked into taking in an old man who was scheming to sell the dojo for his own profit. He wouldn't let it happen again.

Karen turned out to be a pleasant addition to the Kamiya Dojo. She did many of the domestic chores, from cooking meals to doing the laundry, and she proved to be a fairly competent cook. There was only one thing she refused to do, and that was practice in the dojo.

"Why do you carry around a sword, if you don't use it?" Yahiko asked her bluntly, one evening several days after she had settled in.

"Because it's pretty, Yahiko-kun," Karen said cheerfully. "It's shiny and quite valuable, in case I ever need quick cash. But I couldn't cut an apple with it, I'm afraid. _You'd_ have me begging for mercy in ten seconds, Yahiko-kun."

"I could teach you, Karen-san," Kaoru offered helpfully.

"No, it's all right," Karen laughed. "I'm quite content washing dishes, like Kenshin-san there." She pointed to Kenshin, who was at the moment busy wiping the last of their bowls dry. "I've never seen _him_ use his sword, either," she continued innocently, seemingly oblivious to the uncomfortable silence settling over Yahiko and Kaoru at her words. "I suppose he's as bad as using the sword as I am. Is that so, Kenshin-san?"

"I don't like using it much, Karen-dono," he replied easily. "I'd rather wash the dishes."

"Wise words," Karen remarked. The sun was disappearing fast down the horizon, casting long shadows in the dim light. "It's getting dark. How about some tea before bed?"

As Kaoru went to draw some water from the well, and Karen disappeared into the kitchen, Yahiko nudged Kenshin and whispered, "I don't believe her."

Kenshin looked at him in surprise. "What do you mean, you don't believe Karen-dono? Don't believe what?"

"That she doesn't know kenjitsu," he said, eyes narrowed in thought. Kenshin raised his eyebrows. "Oro... why would she lie to us?"

"I dunno." Yahiko shrugged. "Aah, who cares if she does or not? She can cook okay. That's a lot more than you can say for Kaoru." He grinned mischievously. Kenshin laughed a bit nervously, glancing over his shoulder to see if Kaoru might have overheard, but thankfully she was still at the well. No need for a violent end to an otherwise peaceful day.

Karen opened her eyes. It was the middle of the night, from all she could tell, still several hours from dawn. Beside her, Kaoru breathed softly in slumber. _What woke me up?_ she thought, sitting up to cock her head in concentration. _Something woke me up._

A moment later, she reached for a robe and her katana before silently sliding out of her blankets and leaving the room. Her bare feet whispered on the ground as she stole across the yard. With a light jump she vaulted the dojo walls, landing gracefully in the shadows. At first glance she seemed to be alone, but a thin line of cigarette smoke betrayed the presence of another.

"You know, you could try coming during visiting hours," Karen hissed, her eyes catching the moonlight and glowing with annoyance. "Must you skulk around like some sort of fugitive?"

"It's what I do best," a deep voice said dryly. "You expected me to drop a calling card?"

"Why are you here?"

A cloud of smoke preceded his words. "Busy making new friends?"

"It's what you told me to do," she snapped under her breath. "I don't see why. Why can't we do this out in the open? I don't like lying to these people."

"They are bait," the man said in a neutral tone. "You know that. And it wasn't my idea, this entire plan of you _socializing_ with these people. It was yours."

"Cold-blooded lizard," she said, but her tone was almost affectionate, as if she were complimenting him.

"Thank you."

She sighed. "Nothing out of the ordinary yet. Don't you think Kenshin-san would know if something was wrong? I still don't know why I'm here."

"Battousai's growing soft in the head," her companion said scornfully. "Besides, this is what we do. It's your job to take care of these things."

"For _this_ lousy pay?" she murmured, taking a few steps closer to him and looking up at his face. "Lousy pay makes for poor spies. I could be very easily bribed."

"Yes, and then I'd have to kill you."

Karen laughed softly, her hand moving up to caress the side of the lean face, guiding it to meet her lips in a brief but smoldering kiss. "I have no doubt you would," she whispered, before leaving as quietly as she had appeared. 


	2. To Trust a Rurouni

**Disclaimer**: Nope, Rurouni Kenshin is not mine. *takes out katana and kills all the lawyers*

"Karen-san, would you like to come with me today?" Kaoru asked her over breakfast the next day. "I'm visiting a neighboring dojo. I though you might like to get out for awhile and see a bit more of Tokyo."

"That would be wonderful," Karen smiled and darted a mischievous look at Kenshin. "I guess Kenshin-san gets to do all the housework today."

"He's used to it," Yahiko answered matter-of-factly. "Kaoru never does the housework, especially the cooking part. Not if the rest of us can help it." He instinctively dodged Kaoru's flying fist.

"Oro..." Kenshin blinked, then grinned at Karen. "Don't worry, Karen-dono. Have a good time today."

"Today's my day at the Akabeko," Yahiko announced. "I'll be back after dinner."

They quickly finished breakfast and busied themselves by getting ready for the day. Yahiko helped clear breakfast and left for the Akabeko, Kenshin decided to start doing the laundry, Kaoru went inside to change, and Karen started to wash the dishes. She was drying her hands on a towel when a knock at the main gates sounded.

"Yes?" she inquired, opening the door halfway.

A chubby, oily looking man was standing outside, dressed in a Western-style outfit and holding a briefcase at his side. "I'm looking for Kamiya Kaoru."

"She's busy at the moment," Karen replied, giving the man a disinterested glance. "What do you want?"

"Who is it, Karen-dono?" came Kenshin's voice.

"I'm a representative for Mister Samuel Black, and I would like to speak to Kamiya-san directly about her property. Mister Black is very interested in this land, and he is willing to pay twice its worth-"

The man froze, his condescending tone fading off as he stared at Karen, who had suddenly given him a piercing glare with her dark eyes. Noting his discomfort, she quickly smoothened her expression. "Well, come in. Kaoru-san will be out in a moment."

Just as she opened the door for him to enter, Kaoru emerged from the house, a bag containing her wrapped shinai slung over her shoulder. She looked surprised at the stranger's presence, and her brow furrowed as the man made a flowery introduction, but once she understood what his message was, her face darkened in fury.

"I'm sorry, but I have _no intention_ of selling this land." She planted her hands on her hips and glared fiercely at the visitor, who found himself wiping the sweat off his forehead at Kenshin's hooded gaze from his seat behind Kaoru. "That is my only answer, and even if you offer me all of Japan it won't change. So go away!"

"It's what I had feared," Kenshin murmured after the visitor had made a hasty departure. Kaoru looked at him, surprised. "Kenshin, what do you mean? Did you expect something like this to happen?"

"Who would want to buy this ol' worm-eaten dojo?" Sanosuke asked as he sauntered in, dodging the rock Kaoru hurled at his head.

"Not the dojo, but the land," Karen said thoughtfully. "It's right in Tokyo. If someone had the money to make something of it, they would earn ten times their investment."

"Well, it's more valuable to me than _any_ amount of money," Kaoru scowled. Karen slipped an arm around Kaoru and squeezed her with a wistful smile. "I wish _I_ had something I could say the same about."

Kaoru gave her a troubled look, but Karen quickly masked her expression with her ever-ready smile. "I'll get my katana, Kaoru-san, and then we'll go. Maybe I can learn a little today."

"She must be lonely," Kaoru said softly as Karen disappeared into her room.

"I don't see why, with those good looks," Sanosuke said appreciatively. 

"Oro..." Kenshin nearly fell over at Sanosuke's comment, but his thoughts were not on Karen's physical appearance. _She wasn't a bit surprised at that visit. She's not telling us something. But what?_

Kaoru helped Karen grasp the hilt of the shinai and showed her how to plant her feet. "This is the basic stance of kenjitsu, Karen-san. You hold the shinai... no, grasp it a bit more firmly, but your arms must be loose, not tight. Now, hold it up and bring it down, smoothly."

Karen followed Kaoru's instructions and executed a fairly praiseworthy stroke. The other students of the dojo, mostly male, broke into admiring applause. Karen paused to give them a wicked wink, making many of them turn red in pleased embarrassment. Kaoru giggled.

"You are quite natural, Karen-san," Maekawa, the sensai of the dojo said approvingly. "It must be in your blood."

"You are too generous, Maekawa-sama," Karen bowed. She was dressed in a loose dojo uniform, and her hair was tied over her shoulder. "But this has quite tired me out," she laughed at herself, wiping her damp brow.

"We must be heading back now, anyway," Kaoru remarked at the lengthening sunlight. The students sent a chorus of good-natured boos, but Maekawa waved them off sternly. "Come back soon, Kaoru. You know we always welcome you."

"It is an honor, Maekawa-sensai," Kaoru bowed respectfully.

The two girls were soon on their way back home, Karen garbed again in her usual kimono and her hair in a respectable bun. "That was fun, Kaoru-san," Karen commented with a contented sigh. "Those boys were rather cute."

Kaoru laughed at Karen's comment. "Karen-san, they were all over you. Would you like to come next time with me as well?"

Karen paused in mid-step, as if surprised, and gave Karen a curious glance. Kaoru returned the look questioningly, her blue-green eyes wide and sincere. An odd smile curled on Karen's lips. "I'd like that, Kaoru-san. Very much."

"Oi!"

At the rude greeting, both Karen and Kaoru looked up, to see about ten men, all armed with staves and short swords, standing in the middle of the road and blocking the way to the bridge they had to cross to get home. "Which one of you is Kamiya Kaoru?"

Kaoru moved to stand in front of Karen. "What do you want?" 

"Sorry, lady," the one who seemed to be in charge sneered. "We've been paid to bother you a bit. See this contract here?" The man shook out a piece of paper. "If you sign this, we might just let you alone."

"What is that?" Kaoru asked suspiciously.

"A contract of sales," he said causally. "For your dojo."

"I told you I'm not selling," she snapped back. "You're wasting your time."

"Lady, you're confusing us with someone else," he shook his head with mock concern. "Guess that dojo of yours is pretty popular, ne? But you have to sell to _us_, see, or else you might just regret it."

"Who is us?" Kaoru demanded, pulling the string that held down the cloth wrapped around her shinai. She gave Karen a look, telling her to step out of harm's way, but Karen's face had gone blank, and she looked oblivious to Kaoru's signals.

"Are you going to sign or not?"

"How's this for an answer!" Kaoru snarled, whipping the shinai free of its wrappings and charging towards the man. She swiftly took him out, hitting him squarely on the knee and then on the neck as he keeled over. But the men quickly got over their surprise and surrounded her in an instant. _Damnit, I can't win this fight,_ she thought desperately. _I don't even have a bokken with me... _"Karen-san, run!" she shouted, meeting the onslaught as best she could. "Get Kenshin-"

Kaoru was never exactly sure what happened after that. There was a moment of confusion, with shouts and curses mingling with cries of pain, and the next thing Kaoru knew, half their attackers were prone on the ground, moaning incoherently, and Karen stood with her katana drawn, dripping blood. A shallow cut had sliced through the cloth and skin on her left shoulder, but she seemed unfazed.

"What the-?!" someone began, but Karen raised her sword with an ease that surprised Kaoru and whipped through the remaining men in a dance of death, causing them to fall like blades of grass before the scythe. She paused with the last one, her blade pressing against his neck. He stared at her, terrified. "Who sent you?" she hissed, and Kaoru tried to suppress the shiver she felt at that cold voice.

"I...I don't know..." he whimpered. "I..."

Karen slid her blade across his skin and he crumpled to the ground. Karen gazed calmly upon the bodies before flicking the blood off her sword, then sliding it into her sheath with a practiced movement. For the first time, Kaoru noted that the sheath was dark red and gleaming, made of metal like Kenshin's. There was a tense silence as Karen met Kaoru's eyes, and Kaoru felt something familiar in her gaze.

"I..." Karen took a deep breath and let it out, long and hopelessly. "I am...very sorry, Kaoru-san. I lied to you, to all of you from the beginning."

"...Why, Karen-san?" Kaoru asked, but her voice was gentle. _I know now. It is the way Kenshin looked at me, when I first found out he was Hitokiri Battousai. It seems it is my fate, to take in wandering hitokiris who turn out saving my life._ She found herself fighting back a hysterical laugh.

"I will explain, Kaoru-san, and I will tell you nothing but the truth, but there is no time, not now." Her face hardened. "Those bastards. They were sent by somebody. They will stop at nothing to get your land now, Kaoru-san. We must catch them or you will lose your dojo, and more importantly, your life."

Kenshin looked up as Karen and Kaoru hurried into the yard. "Did you have a nice time...?" he asked, then trailed off at the spatter of blood on Karen's kimono. His eyes widened, then narrowed. "What happened?"

"Karen-san saved my life," Kaoru said in a rush. "We were attacked but Karen-san defeated them all. She says the dojo is in danger. We have to trap them. I'm not losing this land to anybody!"

"Slow down." Sanosuke interrupted her hurried explanation. "What the hell are you saying? How could Karen-jousan save _your_ life? She doesn't even know how to hold a sword!"

"She was lying," Kenshin said quietly. "Am I right, Karen-dono?"

Karen turned to look at Kenshin. "Yes," she said clearly. "I lied to you from the start, about everything. There _is_ a man by the name of Kagaii who was indebted to your father, Kaoru-san, but he died with no children. I knew who all of you were before I walked into the Akabeko that day. My lie was designed so I could have an excuse to stay close to you."

"Why, Karen-san?" Kaoru asked curiously. "Why did you go through all that trouble to approach us?"

Karen paused, taking a deep breath before opening her mouth to reply. "I am a secret agent for the government. My true name is Hiko Karen, and I report to Inspector Fujita, otherwise known as Saitou Hajime."

"You work for _Saitou Hajime?_" Sanosuke and Kaoru shouted in disbelief. But Kenshin was concerned with another part of Karen's identity.

"_Hiko_ Karen?" he repeated, his purple eyes staring at her incredulously. "You... you aren't ... by any chance..."

"I suppose I should introduce myself all over again," she said, looking amused as she bowed towards Kenshin. "Greetings, Kenshin-san. I am the daughter of your shishou, Hiko Seijuuro."

The group looked absolutely dumbstruck at this revelation, gaping at Karen silently. Karen shrugged and had the grace to blush, but before anyone could recover the power of speech Yahiko came strolling in with a "I'm starving! What's for dinner?"

The silence unnerved him. "No dinner?" he tried again. "Isn't anyone hungry?"

"Never mind dinner," Karen said briskly, looking relieved that she had nothing more to hide. "I will explain everything in detail, but we have no time for this. I was sent here because for several months we have been on the trial of a landbuyer who we suspect is using illegal methods to purchase Japanese land at a very low price. The Kamiya Dojo was pinpointed as an ideal target."

"We were _bait?_" Kaoru exploded, but Kenshin put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Was this Saitou's idea?"

"Let's just say we were running out of options," Karen said calmly. "In order to arrest this bastard, we must have more evidence. I am sure that we can lure them to the bait tonight, but I need your cooperation."

"Bait being us," Sanosuke muttered. "Hey, how do we know you're telling the truth? You could be one of them for all we know."

"Shut up, Sano," Kaoru retorted. "Karen-san saved my life, when she could have let me die and no one would have known it wasn't an accident."

Karen gave Sanosuke a half-smile, almost a smirk. "You are under no obligation to trust me," she said, affecting disinterest. "Sanosuke-kun is quite right - for all you know I may be a very well-informed spy...for the other side. The stakes are high, Kaoru-san. A mistake will cost you your land. What will you decide?"

Kaoru glanced at Kenshin, who smiled gently at her with meaning in his eyes. She could practically hear his thoughts. _You trusted a stranger once - a wanderer with a past of blood and a history of guilt. Can you do it again, Kaoru-dono?_

"I seem to be doomed to forever be putting my life into the hands of wandering strangers with swords," she sighed with mock despair. Kenshin chuckled with a soft "Oro..." "Karen-san, I trust you. You could have harmed us any time these past few days, but you never did. And... I saw the look in your eyes, Karen-san. You look exactly like Kenshin when he's trying to be dark and brooding." Yahiko guffawed, and Kenshin looked mildly indignant. "So what do we have to do?"

Karen marveled at the openness in Kaoru's pretty face, free of any cynicism or doubt. She felt a brief flash of envy for what this girl had, followed by determination: _They will not have this dojo, not if I have anything to say about it!_ Aloud she said, "Yes. Then, listen closely, all of you. First, Sanosuke-kun, you must find where the idiots that tried to kill Kaoru-san came from. Contact whoever is in charge and tell them you want to deal..."


	3. For the Sake of a Dojo

** Disclaimer:** Elienta owns not, nor has she e'er  
Claimed to own the most esteemed Rurouni   
Kenshin. Though many's the time she wishes  
It were so. *pants from the effort of writing in pentameter*

It was a typical summer night, warm and clear, the music of crickets and cicadas filling the air. The moon was in her last stage, a feeble crescent that failed to cast much more light than the sprinkled stars. Kaoru shifted a little to keep her foot from falling asleep. Beside her, Kenshin touched her knee reassuringly, his eyes sharp and focused. Kaoru silently berated herself for fidgeting and schooled herself to stillness. _Surely it must be midnight by now!_

The creaking of the front gate made her tense, and she could hear Karen's voice. "It took you long enough getting here."

By the sound of it, there were between twenty and thirty men entering the yard. "You said you want to deal?"

"That's what I said, didn't I?" Sanosuke drawled as he and Karen stood together, facing the rough-looking group. "Your employer wants this piece of land, right? So we might give it to you, if the price is right."

"Why?" the first man asked suspiciously. "You're friends of Kamiya Kaoru, aren't you?"

"I hardly know her." Karen sounded bored. "She's just the daughter of some friend of my old man's. And Sanosuke and I..." Her smothered chuckle practically smoldered, as she slipped one arm around Sanosuke's waist and put her free hand on his chest possessively, idly stroking his muscles. Sanosuke suddenly found himself flush as she pressed herself against him, and tried to keep his features casual. "Let's just say we've come to an...understanding. We need money if we're going to get out of Tokyo."

"So we burn the dojo down, and make it look like an accident?" another demanded to know.

"Kaoru-chan's an absent-minded, clumsy little girl," Karen said, sounding greatly amused, and Kaoru had to reminder herself that this was a ruse to keep herself from bursting out and strangling Karen to death. "It will look like she forgot to extinguish the kitchen fire before she went to sleep."

"All right." the man grumbled. "Do you have the kerosene?"

"Right here." Sansosuke patted a bucket next to him. Karen nodded at him, and he liberally doused the wall closest to them with it. "The fire will spread easily." Karen commented. "Shall we get started?"

Kenshin motioned for Kaoru and Yahiko to get ready, while he carefully eased his sakabatou in its sheath. Kaoru found herself entertaining a moment of irrational doubt. If Karen wasn't what she said she was...

"We'll be burnt worse than Kaoru's cooking," Yahiko whispered under his breath, and ambush or no Kenshin had to forcibly restrain Kaoru from attacking her rude pupil with her bokken. The sound of grumbling in front of the door to the dojo warned them to keep silent.

"By the way," Karen asked casually as she lit the match. "Who is this big man wanting to buy the land around here so badly?"

"Some rich foreigner," he grunted. "Oi, are you going to drop the match or not?"

Karen sniffed as she tossed the lit match. It landed in the liquid...and suddenly fizzled out in the dampness. Sanosuke smirked. Before the men could grasp what was happening Karen had whipped her katana out and stabbed the nearest person. "Kenshin-san!!"

Kenshin burst out of the dojo, followed by Kaoru and Yahiko, but by this time the gang had regrouped and unsheathed their own swords. Karen and Kenshin took the forefront, with Sanosuke covering their few misses and Yahiko and Kaoru concentrating on finishing off the wounded. Kaoru watched Karen and Kenshin do their work, and she noticed that they were nearly the same. _Silly, they learned from the same master._ Yet Karen's style differed from Kenshin in subtle ways. Kenshin attacked swiftly; Karen spent a bit more time on defense before moving in for the kill. _She lacks the strength and speed...but not the grace. _While Kenshin moved with grim intent and a frightening concentration, Karen moved in a fluid dance, whirling amidst her foes with careless abandon.

"Chii!!" One of the remaining men rolled out of Karen's reach and pulled something out of his clothes. "Don't move, bitch!"

Kaoru recognized the object and could not hold back a scream. "Karen-san!"

Karen turned, and so did everyone else, but the man was out of their range. "You think you can fuck with us?!" he shrieked, pointing the barrel at Karen.

A moment later, blood splattered everywhere as a katana seemed to bloom out of the man's forehead. Karen lowered her own blade. "Took you long enough, you old wolf."

Saitou Hajime wrenched his sword free, and as the police force surrounded the dojo he leisurely flicked the blood from it before shoving it into the sheath. Then he removed the cigarette from between his teeth, blowing out a cloud of smoke. "Didn't want to spoil the fun," he shrugged.

It was nearly dawn by the time everything had been cleaned up and taken care of. Karen had somehow found the time to clean up and prepare tea, and as she poured the hot water, one hand gently holding her sleeve back to expose her wrist, Kaoru watched her with more than a little envy. _She's so beautiful, and a skilled kenkaku besides..._ She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Kenshin gave her a questioning look, and she tried to look cheerful, indicating nothing was wrong.

Saitou, who had stayed behind while rest of the police force had left, took a silent sip of his tea. "I don't think we'll get much from those idiots. They don't know who's the mastermind behind this. Not that I expected much."

"It's a lot more to go on than we had," Karen retorted. "You should thank these people, Saitou. They were nice enough to hang themselves as bait even though they knew it was dangerous."

"I didn't ask them to do it," he replied lazily, lighting a cigarette. Karen rolled her eyes.

"We're used to him, Karen-dono," Kenshin said pleasantly, putting his tea cup down with a quiet click. "Now that things have died down a bit, could you tell us exactly who you are and what this is all about?"

Karen glanced into her own cup as if the answers he looked for were floating in her tea. Then she took a long sip, put the cup down, and looked up to see four pairs of expectant eyes locked onto her with various degrees of interest. She took a breath.

"My father is Hiko Seijuuro," she began, "And my mother's name was Yamada Godori. She was a geisha. My father met her when they were quite young...before he had, in fact, received the title of Hiko Seijuuro. But that was the only name he gave my mother during that one night they spend together. He left to finish his training, never knowing she was with child."

"He never went back?" Kenshin asked, spellbound by this secret of his shishou. _He was always a private person, but I can't believe he never even mentioned this to me..._

"He did," Karen replied. "But I was about thirteen, and my mother died a few days before his second visit. I was being brought up as a geisha, but my father took me to live with him and taught me the ways of Hiten no Mitsurugi. I never heard about Kenshin-san until later on, when he told me about his "baka deshi" who had run away against his orders." She grinned at Kenshin. "Anyway, I stayed with him for a few years, and then I returned to the geisha house to live my own life. He didn't like that very much."

"I told you she was lying about not knowing kenjitsu!" Yahiko crowed triumphantly. Karen chuckled. "I must say I'm impressed, Yahiko. One of the most important virtues of a kenkaku is observance." Yahiko shot Kaoru a smug look. "It appears your teacher taught you well," Karen added, causing Kaoru to smile sweetly at her impudent pupil.

"How did you meet him?" Sanosuke interrupted, jerking a thumb at Saitou.

"It was during the years I was a geisha," Karen said cautiously, picking her words with care as if she was afraid of revealing something she didn't want to. "I was invited to a party of government officials, and there he was. It's a long story, but in the end I gave up being a geisha and became a sort of part-time secret agent. There was no one left at the house anyway, after my mother had died and my friend had also left to follow another man."

_She met him when she was a geisha. That means..._ Kenshin tried not to blush. No one else seemed to pick up on the meaning between her lines. He caught a subtle exchange of glances between Karen and Saitou.

"Tell them who your friend was, Karen," Saitou said, and Kenshin almost detected a note of amusement in his bland tone.

She shot him an annoyed look. "My friend's name was Yumi. Gomagata Yumi."

It took Kaoru a few seconds to recognize the name. "Yumi?! That was Shishio's..."

"Yes, Shishio-san was the man she followed," Karen said matter-of-factly.

It took a moment for everyone to digest the information they had just received. "It's a small world, ne?" Sanosuke offered with an attempt at a joke.

"Too small, in my opinion," Saitou took another drag on his cigarette. "But enough of this pointless talk. I'm assuming you're not going to sell?" His cigarette pointed towards Kaoru. "That's too bad, because these people aren't going to give up easily. You're going to have to keep on being bait until we figure out who the bastard is. Not that _I_ mind."

"You wouldn't," Kaoru returned. "But I'm willing to do it, in order to keep the dojo."

"I will stay here for a while long then," Karen said decisively. "Kenshin-san and I should be more than enough to prevent anything from getting out of hand. You can put up with me a little longer, Kaoru-san, ne?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Karen-san." Kaoru said indignantly. "You can stay for as long as you want."

"Yeah, that way _we_ won't have to put up with Kaoru's cooking," Yahiko said bluntly, to everyone's general amusement.

Karen looked slightly surprised before giving Kaoru a grateful smile. "Thank you, Kaoru-dono. I promise I will guard this dojo with my life, if necessary."

"Oh, you wandering kenkakus are all the same," Kaoru said, with impatient affection. Kenshin blinked. "Oro... what does that mean, Kaoru-dono?"

"Never mind." Kaoru looked as if she was enjoying a private joke. Saitou shrugged and stood up. "Well, if that settles it, I'm going. This is a lot of fuss over a old dojo."

"Shut up Saitou," Karen snapped. The former Shinsen-gumi looked unperturbed as he strolled into the dawn.


	4. Hitokiri to Hitokiri

**Disclaimer**: Zounds, it is not mine! Rurouni Kenshin  
It be not mine! This humble authoress  
Does but borrow the noble characters  
For her miserable piece of fiction.  
*prances around in joy at having completed the pentameter*

The next morning, Kaoru found Karen and Kenshin both going through a few basic kenjitsu exercises, with Yahiko watching them intently. Kenshin seemed pleased to find someone to spar with - the truth of the matter was that neither Kaoru nor Yahiko was up to sparring a master of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu, and the only person who came close - Saitou Hajime - would never cross swords with Kenshin unless it was to kill. Kaoru, being a student of the sword herself, was able to appreciate the subtle finesse of the moves of Hiten no Mitsurugi, aptly named, for both Kenshi and Karen moved with the deadly grace of a dragon in flight. The exercise ended in a few minutes, as they sheathed their swords and bowed.

"Kaoru-dono," Kenshin greeted her, a smile lighting up his face as he wiped some sweat off his brow. The day was already warm. "Did you sleep well?"

"Fine," Kaoru replied. "Konichiwa, Karen-dono."

"Konichiwa, Kaoru-san," Karen said lightly, approaching her. Kaoru made up her mind to tell Karen something that she had been thinking about ever since last night.

"You don't have to call me _san_, Karen-san," she said sincerely. "Kenshin calls me dono because it's a silly habit of his, ("Oro...") but I don't want _you_ to pick up his ways."

"Well, then," Karen said obligingly, "I'll call you Kaoru-chan, if you call me Oneechan."

Kaoru was surprised, but it quickly melted into delight. "Hai! I've never called anyone oneechan before," she added impulsively.

"Well then, Kaoru-chan," Karen said cheerfully, "Let's go make breakfast."

"Hai, Oneechan!!"

As the two girls linked arms and headed towards the kitchen, Yahiko watched Kenshin as he wiped his forehead and took a seat next to the boy. "Oro... why are you staring at me, Yahiko?" he asked.

"Nothing," he shrugged. "I was just wondering..."

"Wondering...?" Kenshin prompted him.

"You and Karen."

"Hai, what about us?"

"Both of you are students of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu."

Kenshin raised his eyebrows. "What are you trying to say, Yahiko?"

"I guess what I want to ask is," Yahiko took a deep breath. "Does that make you two...equal?"

Kenshin's brow wrinkled as he contemplated the question. "As...as kenkaku?"

"Yeah, I guess that's what I mean." Yahiko looked slightly uncomfortable, feeling that the question was somewhat rude. "You don't have to answer that."

Kenshin's lips quirked in amusement. "No, daijoubu. But I'm afraid I can't answer that for you, Yahiko. I'll be honest..." Kenshin paused and searched for his words. "Karen-dono is... physically weaker than me, and she told me last night that she hasn't mastered the last part of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu, partly because her father refused to teach it to her. And she learned the sword at a later age than I did. But physical strength isn't the only kind of strength, Yahiko. She's a skilled kenkaku, but more than that, she possesses inner strength."

"She didn't seem concerned about killing those men last night."

"Yes well..." Kenshin sighed. "I can't say I approve, but that is her decision." The fight yesterday had been rather hectic, and he hadn't noticed the corpses until after the police had arrived.

"What makes her different from Saitou?" Yahiko asked bluntly.

"Saitou doesn't feel remorse," Kenshin said. "Karen-dono does. No true student of Hiten no Mitsurugi could not."

"Oh..." Yahiko seemed wrapped up in his own thoughts for a moment, then lifted his head to sniff the air. "I think she's done something greater than master Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu."

"Nani?" Kenshin looked confused.

"She's taught Kaoru to prepare a decent meal!" Yahiko jumped up and scampered to the kitchen, leaving Kenshin behind. "Oro..." Kenshin chuckled to himself as he got up and trailed after him, his stomach rumbling at the smell of food.

"Karen-dono?"

The moon was now slowly renewing itself, still a sliver in the summer night sky. Karen, seated in the shadows on the wooden floor just outside the dojo, glanced in the direction of Kenshin's voice. "Is something wrong, Kenshin-san?"

"No, but what are you doing outside, in the middle of the night?"

"Keeping watch," Karen said frankly.

Kenshin blinked. "Karen-dono, I don't think..."

"It's for my personal peace of mind, Kenshin-san, so don't worry about it." She smiled, her face half hidden by the shadows. "Come and keep me company, Kenshin-san, if you're not too tired."

Kenshin obligingly stepped up to the wooden floor and sat down next to Karen. She was wearing a loose robe, and her hair fell unbound around her face. The faint moonlight glowed on her skin. "What were you thinking about, Karen-dono?" he asked, noting her pensive expression.

"Oh, a lot of things," she said vaguely.

"Such as...?" he prompted.

"Oh, on nights like these I think of my mother, mostly." She shrugged and smiled a little. "I like to speculate how different my life could have been if my mother had had the courage to follow my father, or if my father had returned to see my mother earlier." Her voice carried a sort of deep bitterness, long buried but still not forgotten. " My mother always thought he had forgotten about her, that to him it was nothing but a one night stand with a geisha who was silly enough to fall in love with a wandering kenkaku. I grew up hating my father because of that." She paused. "He wept in front of my mother's grave."

Kenshin found it hard to picture his shishou weeping over anything, and Karen looked amused at the wonder on his face. "Yes, well, he doesn't really strike one as the sensitive type."

"Have you ever thought about giving that up, Karen-dono?" Kenshin asked, nodding towards the katana by her side. She smiled ruefully at his question.

"Kenshin-san... no, Kenshin-sempai." Karen slowly unsheathed the sword and held it up to the moonlight. "Every era needs its hitokiris. You did your part, during the war. I am doing mine as well. I have no illusions about what I do. My father always told me, ken is a tool of killing..."

"...and kenjitsu is the art of killing," Kenshin finished. "No noble cause or fine words can change this truth."

"Yes," Karen nodded. "A harsh truth, but one that is necessary for the birth of a new era. And for its continuation."

"You don't need to live like that," Kenshin began, but Karen cut him off. "No, sempai. I do. It is fate, you see. Hitokiris don't just pop out of the ground like mushrooms. Life pushes them toward that road. As it did you, as it did Saitou, as it did my father, and as it did me. _You_, sempai, you deserve to live in the Meiji Era, as a part of it. You are the light, the ideals of the Meiji Era, but I..." she smiled, and something in her eyes caused a pang in Kenshin, because it seemed something so akin to himself. "I am the shadow of the Meiji Era. Like Shishio, maybe, minus the insanity and ambition." Kenshin couldn't help a chuckle at her wry tone. "Daughter of a hitokiri and geisha. I am perfectly resigned to my fate, Kenshin-sempai."

"I really don't deserve to be called sempai," Kenshin protested. Karen arched a brow and smiled mischievously, her tone lighter than before. "Well, I'm afraid technically you _are, _even if I'm not an official student of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu. You're my father's baka deshi, I'm his mazui musume. That does create a bond between us, ne?"

Kenshin nearly fell over at her words. "He doesn't really callhis own _daughter_ ugly, does he?"

"Of course he does," Karen shrugged. "Why should you be surprised?"

"Yare yare..." Kenshin shook his head in dismayed amusement.

"And stop calling me Karen-_dono_," Karen said pointedly. "I am your junior, remember?"

"Demo..." Kenshin hesitated. "You are still the daughter of my shishou."

"Then call me Ojousan," she suggested. "Sempai?"

"All right then," he relaxed, smiling. "Ojousan."

The two students of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryuu sat side by side in a contented silence, leaning against the wall as the night wore on. Karen, having lost sleep for the past few nights, soon began to doze lightly against Kenshin's shoulder, and he found a newfound affection for this girl who was like the sibling he had never had. It was a completely different thing from his feelings concerning Kaoru. _Much simpler_, he told himself.

A soft step in the shadows made him tense ever so slightly, and in a heartbeat Karen's hand was resting on the hilt of her katana. Kenshin also moved to better grip his sakabatou, although neither of them moved to get up until the sound passed very close to them. Intent on his mission, the intruder was unaware of the two still figures until they were practically on top of him.

"Kenshin? Oneechan?" Kaoru's voice, still thick with sleep, came through the darkness. "Nanigoto desu ka?"

"Daijoubu, Kaoru-dono," Kenshin called back, holding him down in the dirt while Karen disarmed him and searched him. She came up with a small vial full of some silver liquid.

"Naaaaa... nande?" Yahiko demanded through a yawn, somewhat disoriented but more or less awake as he slammed his door open.

"Mercury," Karen said grimly. "He was going to drop it down the well. These bastards must mean business." She continued her search until her hands rustled against a piece of paper. "Shut up and stay still, you bastard," she said absently as she tugged the paper free. "It's a letter."

"What does it say?" Kaoru demanded. 

"'Make sure you don't mess up this time,'" Karen read. "'Kamiya must be taken care of tonight. Yamagata is tomorrow. Be there.'"

"Yamagata," Kenshin breathed, stunned. Kaoru dimly remembered the Japanese government official who had once tried to convince Kenshin to take his place as one himself. "Why?"

"Well, it makes sense, in a way," Karen mused. "He is very determined that foreigners will not get their hands on Japanese land, not illegally, at least. Assuming that this land-hunter is a foreigner, killing Yamagata-sama seems like a logical conclusion. The question is not why, but how?"

"Ojousan, will you stay here with Karen-dono?" Kenshin still had the squirming man pinned down. "I will go take this man to the police."

"I'll go with you," Yahiko announced.

"Be careful, Kenshin," Kaoru said worriedly, as Karen simply nodded. "Better tell Saitou while you're at it, sempai. We may have to make a trip to Kyoto first thing tomorrow morning, to go see Yamagata-sama."

Confused as Kaoru was, she did not fail to notice a change between Karen and Kenshin, and not only the switch in titles. It was as if Kenshin had acknowledged Karen as his equal, asking Karen to "stay" with her as if Karen was, for example, Sanosuke, or maybe Aoshi. She knew it was ridiculous to feel jealous over this special bond between Kenshin and Karen, but she couldn't help feeling vaguely troubled. _After all, Oneechan is beautiful and accomplished, and I'm..._

"Kaoru-chan, are you feeling all right?" Karen said, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"No, no, Oneechan, I'm fine," Kaoru shook her head. "I'm perfectly fine."


	5. A Feint Within a Feint

**Disclaimer:** Rurouni Kenshin is not mine, I did not create it, I do not own it, lalala...

"Wow," Yahiko exclaimed, staring up at the cluster of impressive buildings. "Do people really live here?"

"Of course they don't _live_ here, baka," Kaoru retorted, hitting him on the head. "This is where they work."

Since nobody had wanted to be left behind, Saitou, after being severely pushed around by Karen, had grudgingly made arrangements for all of them to come to Kyoto. A specially reserved train had whisked them through the night, making it possible for them to be there by morning. So as not to arouse suspicion, Karen had organized their ruse. Saitou, of course, was dressed as usual in his police uniform, while Karen had put on a much more colorful kimono than usual, posing as Saitou's wife. Kenshin had been persuaded to change into more sober colors than his usual white and red, and with Kaoru on his arm they were supposed to be a couple and close friends of Yamagata. Yahiko was tagging along as Kaoru's younger brother. Sanosuke was wearing something similar to Saitou's uniform, posing as a policeman under his command, and of course Sanosuke did not enjoy this one bit. The katana hanging at his waist was actually Karen's. Yahiko had a shinai dangling from his back, "a toy to amuse the child." He resented this explanation as much as Sanosuke resented being Saitou's underling, but Karen explained to him gravely that today he was acting as an undercover agent for Japan, and that was enough to settle his ruffled pride.

"Now what?" Sanosuke demanded, tugging at his collar with an uncomfortable expression.

"Women and children stay in the waiting room on the first floor," Saitou said briefly as they moved towards one of the buildings. "Roosterhead can stay with you as a guard. Battousai and I will be with Yamagata."

"Why can't we tell Yamagata-san that he's in danger and ask him to go somewhere else?" Kaoru wanted to know.

"We need to force their hand," Karen explained. "They must not know we are on to them. Saitou, send down the files concerning recent land transactions so we can take a look at them. I still have a feeling we're missing something..."

"Konichiiwa, Karen-san, Fujita-san," an accented voice greeted them, and everyone looked up to see a tall foreigner, with light brown hair and a carefully trimmed beard walking towards them. He took Karen's hand with a flourish and bowed over it, bringing it to his lips. "You look as beautiful as ever."

"Thank you, Black-san," Karen said courteously. Kenshin felt something vaguely murderous in Saitou's kii, although he remained expressionless. "How are you today?"

"Oh, as busy as ever," Samuel Black sighed elaborately. "I am eager to start my businesses here in Japan, but so much of the land has been taken. No one seems to know who has bought so much land." He leaned in closer. "I hear something illegal is mixed up in all this. Quite terrible, don't you think, Karen-san?"

Karen tittered. "Oh, Black-san, you don't expect me to care about such things? I leave the business up to my husband, and my most important concern is what to cook for dinner every night."

"Is that so?" Black laughed heartily. "Ah, well, Fujita-san is a lucky man, to have such a lovely woman to come home to." He discreetly looked Karen up and down, and Kenshin almost expected Saitou to stab him then and there. As the foreigner said his goodbyes and moved away, Saitou put a hand on Karen's arm, and she looked up at him with a questioning smile hovering on her lips, meeting his bland gaze with amusement in her own eyes.

"Is that the man who tried to buy my land at first?" Kaoru asked.

"Yes. Black-san is most interested in buying land, but he's very scrupulous about buying it legally and openly." Karen moved to take Kaoru by the arm. "I know where we won't be disturbed. Be careful, Saitou, Sempai."

"I gotta say this - I feel more sorry for whoever's going to try and kill Yamagata," Sanosuke said, shaking his head as they watched Kenshin and Saitou enter the building ahead of them. "He's never going to know what hit him."

"Saitou! Himura?" Yamagata looked surprised to see the two swordsmen stride into his office. "What bring you here, without notice and so early in the morning?"

"Could we speak privately, Yamagata-sama?" Kenshin asked quietly.

Yamagata motioned for his secretary to leave the room and lock the door behind him. "Is something wrong?" he inquired after they were left to themselves.

Saitou outlined the events of the past few days in his usual terse manner. "Today," he finished, "Himura and I are visiting you as friends. No one knows who we are, so the enemy will not be suspicious. WIth a little luck we will nail these bastards for good."

"Ah." Yamagata said with raised brows. "So, I am the bait, and you are the hunters?"

"You won't get hurt, Yamagata-sama," Kenshin hastened to add when Saitou offered no reply beyond a nod.

"I think I may be more afraid of the two of you than any would-be assassins," the government official said dryly. "But thank you anyhow. Hm, I think Mister Black has ordered cakes to be sent today, his way of getting on our good side, I suppose."

"He's bribing Japanese government officials.. with cakes?" Saitou arched an eyebrow. Kenshin couldn't help a chuckle at the ridiculous idea.

"Heaven knows how Westerners think. I suppose it's rather clever in a way. He can't give us anything expensive without people pointing fingers, but no one will point fingers about cakes. It's the thought that counts," he added, knuckling his mustache with some amusement. "Well, sit down, if you're supposed to be visitors. Mura! Some tea, please."

Morning passed into afternoon, and still there was no sign of danger, or even anything odd. Karen and Kaoru were poring over the records again and again, unable to find a clue as to who the mastermind behind this was, while Saitou and Kenshin sat silently in Yamagata's office, so silently that he was able to forget their presence and go on with his daily routines. Yahiko and Sanosuke amused themselves with a deck of cards, gambling with small change.

"All this land," Karen said, waving a stack of papers around, "was bought by our mystery man. The transactions themselves were legal, but each time the owner died under mysterious circumstances. The few who have been caught claim that the man always worked through Japanese agents who were always masked. Nothing is known about this buyer except he is not Japanese."

"Do you think, Oneechan, that this man is educated?" Kaoru suggested. "I don't know much about all this, but it seems that all the land he bought was land that a lot of other investors wanted to buy as well. Maybe that means he knows how to do make money."

"You mean, he knows what sort of land will be valuable?" Karen mused. "Aaa, I agree with you. We're not dealing with some baka who just wants to make money." She frowned, the sunlight from the window catching the light of the jewels embedded in her hair ornaments. "I'm getting a headache from all this. Maybe we should just wait for the assassin to strike."

Upstairs, Kenshin and Saitou were also nearing the end of their patience. "Do you think he meant tomorrow?" Kenshin nearly yawned, looking up from the book he had begun to read. Saitou gave him a withering look from under his hooded eyes, but Kenshin detected with some perverse satisfaction his own edginess and uncertainty.

As soon as both of them heard approaching footsteps, they turned their attention to Yamagata and began an idle conversation, as if they had been talking to each other for hours. Yamagata had to take a moment to adjust to their sudden change in attitude, but by the time the door opened the three men looked quite congenial.

"Am I interrupting anything, Yamagata-sama?" Mura, Yamagata's secretary, poked his head in. He was an earnest, nervous looking youth with thick round glasses that seemed too heavy for his face. "I can come back later..."

"No, come in, Mura-kun," Yamagata gestured. "What is it?"

"Lawson-san wanted me to bring a cake," he answered as he entered, closing the door behind him. Then he presented a wrapped box and set it on Yamagata's desk. Kenshin looked at it, thinking of how Kaoru liked sweets and making a mental note to save a piece for her in case the team downstairs didn't get one. Saitou eyed it with complete disinterest.

"Lawson? Black's secretary?"

"Hai, Yamagata-sama."

"Well, tell them thank you, Mura-kun." Yamagata moved to open the cake. "At least we can eat while we-"

_Danger!!_ The sixth sense both hitokiri had accquired over the years warned them a heartbeat before it arrived. Kenshin leapt to grab Yamagata by his sleeve and yank him out of his seat, shoving him against Mura and pushing both of them to the far side of the wall, while Saitou drew his sword to meet the blast of flying glass. Six masked figures swung themselves through the window and landed silently on the carpet, looking slightly surprised to see Kenshin and Saitou confronting them but losing none of their confidence.

"I don't know who you are, but if you leave now we will spare your life," their leader rasped.

"Ahou," Saitou muttered, taking up his stance and charging without hesitation into their midst. Kenshin was fairly sure Saitou wouldn't kill them, seeing as they were little use if they couldn't testify, but still he quickly entered the fray, sakabatou drawn. The assassins were skilled, but unprepared for the fierce, calculated onslaught of these two deadly men. Saitou's initial attack left two of them senseless on the floor and another badly wounded. Two of the remaining three focused on Saitou, while the last one, judging Kenshin to be weaker because of his size, approached the rurouni with confidence. The fight lasted less than five minutes.

Yamagata rubbed a bruised arm, supported by a stunned Mura. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say _you_ two were trying to kill me," he remarked.

"Who...who are these men?" Mura stammered, a look of complete disbelief etched on his face.

"Oro... we're just friends of Yamagata-sama." Kenshin said cheerfully while Saitou busied himself in searching the bodies of the six men.

"Excuse me?"

Karen looked up to see David Lawson, Samuel Black's secretary, open the door. He was younger than his employer and in Kaoru's opinion much handsomer, with pale hair and dark brown eyes in a squarely cut face. "Lawson-san? What brings you here?"

"Someone told me you were visiting today, Karen-san. I brought you some cake." He carefully put a box down on the table. Kaoru clapped her hands in delight, much to Karen's amusement. "I suppose we can get some forks and plates somewhere."

"Oh, stupid me, I'll make sure to send for some on my way out. But what is all this, Karen-san?" Lawson stared at the sea of documents.

"My husband is working on a case, and I just thought we'd try to help out," Karen said simply. "Only, we're about to give up, it's giving us quite a headache." As Lawson moved to observe Sanosuke and Yahiko's game, she stared blankly at one of the papers containing information on the pieces of land owned by their unknown foreigner. It really was odd. This man had cunningly bought every piece of land Black, as well as various other people had targeted without success, within hours of the death of the previous owner.

Something suddenly clicked in Karen's mind, but before she could completely grasp the solution the door opened to reveal Black himself. "Lawson, I need those papers of the purchase we made yesterday," he said impatiently.

"I'll get right to it, Boss," Lawson said quickly, hopping up and leaving the room. Black bowed to Karen. "Excuse me, Karen-san. Was he bothering you?"

"Not at all, not at all," she said absently, staring at the man. _I have it now. Samuel Black is what all these pieces of land have in common. This mystery man has bought every single piece of land Black wanted to buy but couldn't. And all within a few days of Black's attempts to buy. It is too odd to be coincidence. How could that be? Unless... _

_Unless the mystery man is Black himself._

"Karen-san, is something-"

Karen immodestly hiked up her kimono and kicked out at Black's kneecap, bringing him down with a cry of pain. He fumbled to pull his pistol out of his vest, but Sanosuke had reacted with speed, darting to grab the man by the collar and slamming him against the wall. Karen quickly reached for the weapon, breathing slightly faster from the effort.

"It is _him_!" Kaoru shouted, in sudden understanding. "He was the mastermind behind all this, pretending to work through legal processes and doing all the dirty work behind our backs. The lying, thieving, two-faced bastard!!"

"Kaoru-chan, I'm surprised at you. Bastard doesn't even begin to describe this piece of filth." She handled the pistol gingerly, fishing a kerchief from her sleeve to wrap it in. "Hold him fast, Sanosuke-kun."

"You have no proof!" Black snarled, but it came out more as a whine.

"It's all a matter of time," Karen said pleasantly. "I'm sure Saitou and Kenshin-sempai have apprehended your would-be assassins by now."

Black turned pale. "That wasn't my idea, it was Mura's," he blurted. "He did the dirty work. I only handled the business!"

"You mean you gave him the money to hire the thugs who tried to burn Jo-chan's dojo down," Sanosuke spat in disgust. "Kuso, I'd like to wipe the floor with your face."

"That oughta be interesting," Yahiko remarked. "Who's Mura, anyway?"

"Mura?" Karen arched a brow in disbelief. "Yamagata-sama's secretary, Mura-kun?"

"Yes, yes! It was all his idea!" Black panted, his eyes rolling for a way to escape.

"So much for loyalty," Karen said dryly. "If you're lying, Black-san, I will personally make sure that my 'husband' takes especial care to make your stay in prison a pleasant one." She handed the wrapped gun to Yahiko. "I'm trusting you with this, Yahiko-kun. It may be evidence. Now, we are all going to go see Yamagata-sama, and we are going to walk calmly up the stairs and to his office without making a fuss. If you displease me, Black-san, I will give Sanosuke-kun here free reign to chew you apart and spit you out, and I'm afraid he's quite hungry from being cooped up all day." Sanosuke grinned at Black evilly. "Let's go."

They managed to make it upstairs without arousing suspicion, although a few people did give Black strange looks and one paused to ask if he were ill. The guards posted in the hall must have recognized Karen, for they let them through without a pause, and Karen opened the door to Yamagata's office with a flourish. Her eyes landed on Yamagata standing very close to Mura, looking unconcerned.

Before anyone quite knew what was happening she had hurled herself between the two, pushing Yamagata as far away as she could and using her own body as a shield. Black screamed at the top of his voice, "IT'S HIM! HE'S THE ONE!" while Saitou and Kenshin, alarmed, pulled out their swords. But Mura whipped a gun out of his coat and yelled, "Freeze!!."

Unfortunately, his position was right outside of the range of any of the three kenkaku. Kaoru tightened her hand on Yahiko's shoulder, tensing with fear. "I don't know what the hell's going on, but don't be stupid, Mura," Saitou said causally. "There's no way you're going to get out of this."

"Saitou is right, Mura-kun," Karen said, her tone quiet and reasonable. "You do not want to add another murder to your crimes."

"What's another murder?" Mura said, an edge of panic in his voice as he focused on Yamagata. "I didn't really care about the money. I wanted to kill _him_. I wanted to ruin the government!"

"Gods, who hired this nut?" Saitou muttered, recognizing the trappings of a rebel with a grudge. "Don't tell me. Your father was a soldier during the Bakumatsu period and he was killed by the Ishin side?"

"Ha!" the young man snarled. "This government reeks of blood! It will fall one day, I swear it!"

Kenshin, meanwhile, was concerned with something else. There was a small sound, almost just out of the range of hearing, which no one had noticed because it was not an out of the ordinary sound. It was the sound of clock ticking steadily. There was just one problem.

There was no clock in Yamagata's office.

"GET DOWN!" He shouted, moving before he could allow himself to think. There was a moment's pause of confusion before Sanosuke threw himself on Kaoru and Yahiko, pinning them to the ground, while Saitou and Karen dove at the same time, bearing Yamagata with them. Kenshin scooped the cake up and hurled it out of the window, diving in front of the desk just as the air was split by the deafening sound of a tremendous explosion. Fire roared into the room, debris flew everywhere, and several gunshots pierced the chaos. Kaoru screamed as she felt herself hurled into the wall, Yahiko crushed against her chest.

"Kuso..." Sanosuke cursed, trying to stumble to his feet. Next to him lay an unconscious Black and Mura, both who had been unable to protect themselves from the force of the blast. "What the hell..."

"_Oneechan!_" Kaoru shrieked at the sight of Karen slumped against the wall, blood staining the front of her pale-blue kimono. Yamagata was shaken but safe, while Saitou was bleeding from where a stray bullet had grazed his arm. He bent over Karen with a curse. The guards had rushed to the doorway at the sound of the explosion, and Kenshin quickly ordered them to take Yamagata to safety. "Is Ojousan all right?" he demanded of Saitou.

"She's alive," Saitou answered tersely.

The building trembled for a moment, and Kenshin made an urgent movement. "There must have been at least twenty cakes were delivered today. We have to get out of here, the building might fall over any minute!"

"Oneechan...!" Kaoru sobbed desperately as Saitou carefully gathered Karen in his arms and hastily strode out the door. Kenshin put a protective arm around Kaoru and quickly followed Saitou, with Sanosuke and Yahiko on their heels. Kenshin hesitated for a second in the doorway, but Sanosuke shook his head. "Leave those two bastards, Kenshin, they're not worth it! Think of Jouchan, damn you!"

Kenshin nodded shortly and quickly resumed their retreat. In the halls chaos reigned, as people tripped over each other and trampled the wounded in their desperation to get out. Flames licked the walls, and with a belated explosion the group was separated. The last thing Kaoru knew was Kenshin's strong arms encircling her, and then there was darkness.


	6. EverWandering

**Disclaimer: **This unworthy one does not own Rurouni Kenshin, she's just borrowed the characters for her own twisted purposes. ::muahahaha::

"Kaoru... Kaoru."

Kaoru stirred, feeling faint light press against her eyelids. For some reason they felt heavy, as she struggled to open them at the sound of her name. The voice was achingly tender, as if the owner was afraid she might not answer. She finally opened her eyes to look into two violet orbs, gazing into her own anxiously.

"Ken...shin?" she murmured, moving her hand. Kenshin grasped it, a smile brightening his solemn face. "Kaoru-dono, how are you feeling?"

"Like I rolled in the dust all the way back to Tokyo," she groaned, causing him to laugh. "Are _you_ all right, Kenshin?"

"Most of us weren't hurt too much," he said reassuringly. "You breathed in a lot of smoke from the fire, but the doctor said you'll be all right. We're in the Aoiya. Aoshi-san received word and had us moved here as soon as he heard."

Suddenly the events of the previous day all rushed back to her, and she clutched at Kenshin in sudden fear. "Oneechan!"

Kenshin gently held both her hands in his own, trying to calm her down. "Don't move so suddenly, Kaoru-dono."

"Kenshin, _tell_ me. Where is Karen-oneechan?"

"She's alive," he replied quickly. "Weak, but alive. She lost a lot of blood, but the wound was not fatal. If she makes it through tonight, the doctor says she has a good chance."

"Oh, Kenshin..." Kaoru said helplessly. "She'll be all right, won't she?"

"She is not shishou's daughter for nothing," he smiled. "She will recover."

Kaoru lapsed into silence as she sorted through a haze of thoughts. It had been only a week since she had first met Karen, but Kaoru felt strongly drawn to the older woman, in part because she seemed so much like Kenshin - a warm, caring person struggling with her identity as a hitokiri. Unlike Kenshin, however, Karen was still wandering, still fighting. _Maybe I can convince her to stay with us, like I did with Kenshin,_ Kaoru thought hopefully, but something told her Karen wouldn't stay. Perhaps, after all, that "something" was the significant difference between Karen and Kenshin.

Several rooms away, Saitou was keeping vigil over Karen, his customary cigarette unlit in his hands. His eyes were narrowed and focused on the small form, watching her breast rise and fall in slow rhythm. _She's survived worse than this,_ he thought, but at the same time he couldn't help noting how delicate she looked under the blankets, her face pale beneath her tan, her lips slightly parted and lacking their normal lustre. He ran a roughened hand over her cheek, his face betraying none of his mixed emotions as he gazed upon her face.

"Mmm..." she breathed, her eyelids fluttering. "...Sa...Saitou...?"

"Welcome back," he said, his stoic voice unable to hide his relief. "It's about time."

"Gods...I'm...so tired...." she muttered faintly. "I think...I'l...go back...to...sl...eep..."

"No!" he said sharply, bending over her and giving her a slight shake. "Hiko Karen, do you hear me? Don't you dare leave this place. What did Tokio tell you, you stupid girl?"

"She...told me...to..." Karen struggled against the darkness. "To take care...of you...old wolf. Because she...can't."

"You can't do that if you're dead," Saitou snapped, his face inches from hers. She essayed a small laugh that caught in her throat, turning into a cough. Saitou pressed his lips against hers in a sudden kiss, and Karen was aware of his hands moving, hot on her bare shoulders. For an instant both of them were caught up in the moment, and Karen moaned against Saitou's mouth, her tongue reaching out to taunt him. He pulled himself away with an effort, but did not protest when she slipped her small hand into his calloused one, and watched her until she fell into a deep, untroubled sleep.

"I always said we're an underpaid bunch," Karen said wryly a few days later. She was sitting up in bed, and some of the color had returned to her cheeks. "Of course, I never in my wildest dreams ever thought of bombs hidden in cakes. I think Mura-kun should get a gold medal for creativity."

"It turns out that Mura and Lawson were the real masterminds in this case," Aoshi informed the group. Like Saitou and Karen, he also worked as a secret agent when occasion demanded. "Black was just after the money, but Lawson turned out to be an agent of an underworld terrorist circle, and he convinced Mura to help. Mura, of course, was already planning something for his own personal revenge. I suppose the two of them...clicked."

"Ew," Sanosuke looked reviled at the implications of Aoshi's expression. Karen laughed. "Too bad this doesn't mean a raise for the rest of us."

"All that trouble just for some land," Kaoru said in disgust. "I'll never understand these people."

"Did all of them survive the explosion?" Kenshin asked.

"By some perverse miracle, yes, although Mura and Black are still in a coma. Lawson escaped before the explosions but they caught him before he got far." Saitou held a cigarette in his hand, unlit. "Of course, they're Americans, so they might get off pretty easily. Americans always do."

"Why?" Yahiko demanded.

"Don't ask, Yahiko-kun," Karen advised. "Some things are just too complicated for us to understand."

"You'll stay for awhile, won't you, Kaoru-chan?" Misao wheedled at Kaoru's elbow.

"I think we should leave soon," Kaoru said apologetically. "We've had enough excitement to last us a year. After all this fuss over my dojo, I think I need to go make sure it's still there!" There was general laughter at her remark. "Besides, all of us need rest, especially Oneechan."

"Oh, don't worry about me, Kaoru-chan. I'm perfectly fine now," Karen smiled. "Actually... I don't think I'll be able to go back with you to Tokyo."

"What?" Kaoru protested. "Oneechan, you're not well yet!"

"My wound will heal soon. Besides, I was only assigned to stay with you because of this investigation. Now that it's over..." Karen shrugged apologetically. "We always have enough to keep us busy."

Kaoru looked hurt. "Oneechan, are you saying you were with us only because it was your job?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Kaoru-chan!" Karen reached over for Kaoru's hand and squeezed it. "You've been such a good friend to me, Kaoru-chan. I always wondered why Kenshin-sempai had stopped his wanderings, but now I don't wonder at all." Kaoru blushed, while Kenshin also looked faintly embarrassed. "But some of us just have to wander longer than others, sometimes forever. Don't look so sad, Kaoru-chan. Believe it or not, I enjoy wandering, more or less." She smiled warmly. "And now, I think I have a place I can go back to when I need to rest. Am I right, Kaoru-chan?"

For answer, Kaoru threw her arms around the older woman and hugged her tightly. "Come back soon, Oneechan." she whispered.

"I'll miss her," Sanosuke announced as they were on the train back to Tokyo. "It was nice having a _woman_ around the place." Kaoru threw him her customary glare.

"What _is_ her relationship with Saitou, anyway?" Yahiko wondered out loud. "Misao said she saw them kissing in the hallway, but I told her she was seeing things."

"She probably wasn't," Kenshin coughed gently. Kaoru's eyes widened. "Kenshin, what do you mean? I thought Saitou was married to someone else!"

"He is, as far as I know," Kenshin said uncomfortably. "But...some men have more than one wife, Kaoru-dono. If he met Ojousan when she was a geisha... there's a good chance that she left to become his concubine."

"Nani?" Kaoru gaped, feeling her cheeks turn red, while Yahiko's eyes grew to twice their size.

Sanosuke chuckled. "Lucky bastard. Imagine having _two_ women to come home to every night."

"You are so perverted, Sano!"

"Whaat? What did I say?"

"I'm going to tell Megumi-san!"

"Why the hell does _she_ come into this?!"

"Shut up, both of you, everyone's staring at us."

"Who are you telling to shut up, Yahiko-_chan_?"

"Ororo..."


End file.
